Glossary
Plain-language definitions of WhatsApp, Messenger, AI chatbot and F-commerce terms.
2
- 24-hour window
- The 24-hour window (customer service window) is the 24 hours after a customer's latest WhatsApp message, during which a business can send free-form replies without a template.
A
- Abandoned cart
- An abandoned cart is an online cart or checkout a customer started but left without ordering; abandoned-cart recovery reminds them, often on WhatsApp, SMS or email, to come back and finish.
- AI agent
- An AI agent is software built on a large language model that understands customer messages, decides what to do and uses tools to act, such as looking up products, placing orders or handing over to a person.
- Authentication message
- An authentication message is a WhatsApp template in the authentication category that delivers a one-time passcode for login, phone verification or confirming an action.
B
- Banglish
- Banglish is Bangla written in English (Latin) letters, often mixed with English words, such as 'dam koto?' for 'what is the price?', and is widely used in chat in Bangladesh.
- Broadcast
- A broadcast is a single message sent to many customers at once; on WhatsApp's Business Platform it goes out as an approved template to opted-in contacts, each as a private chat.
C
- Cash on delivery
- Cash on delivery (COD) is a payment method where the customer pays when the order is delivered, usually in cash to the courier, instead of paying online at the time of ordering.
- Click-to-WhatsApp ads
- Click-to-WhatsApp ads are Facebook and Instagram ads with a button that opens a WhatsApp chat with the advertiser, turning each click into a conversation instead of a website visit.
- Conversational commerce
- Conversational commerce is selling through messaging conversations, where customers ask, choose, order and get updates in chat apps like WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram.
F
- F-commerce
- F-commerce (Facebook commerce) is selling directly through Facebook pages, groups, live videos and Messenger, often alongside WhatsApp and Instagram, with orders usually taken in chat.
H
- Human handover
- Human handover is when an AI chatbot stops replying and passes a conversation to a person on the business's team, for example when the customer asks for a human or the AI cannot answer.
M
- Marketing message
- A marketing message is a WhatsApp template in the marketing category, used for promotions, offers, launches and re-engagement, and sent only to customers who opted in.
- Masking SMS
- Masking SMS is a text message in Bangladesh that shows a registered brand name (sender ID or mask) as the sender instead of a phone number; non-masking SMS comes from a number.
- Message template
- A message template is a pre-approved WhatsApp message, in the marketing, utility or authentication category, that a business needs to start a conversation or write outside the 24-hour window.
- Messaging limits
- Messaging limits cap how many unique customers a WhatsApp business can send template messages to in a rolling 24-hour period, rising with verification, volume and good quality.
- Meta Business Verification
- Meta Business Verification is the process of proving to Meta, with official documents, that a business is real, which unlocks higher WhatsApp messaging limits and other platform features.
O
- Official Business Account
- An Official Business Account (OBA) is a WhatsApp Business Platform number that Meta has confirmed as an authentic, notable brand, shown with a verified badge beside the business name.
- Opt-in
- Opt-in is a customer's clear permission for a business to message them on WhatsApp, which Meta requires before a business starts a conversation with a template.
Q
- Quality rating
- The quality rating is Meta's High, Medium or Low score for a WhatsApp business phone number, based on recent customer feedback such as blocks and reports, and it affects messaging limits.
R
- Retrieval-augmented generation
- Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) is an AI technique that first finds the most relevant passages in a business's own content, then has the language model answer using only those passages.
- Return to origin
- RTO (return to origin) is when a courier cannot deliver a parcel, usually a cash-on-delivery order the customer refused or could not receive, and sends it back to the seller.
S
- Shared inbox
- A shared inbox is a single workspace where a team reads, assigns and answers customer messages from channels like WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram on shared business accounts.
U
- Utility message
- A utility message is a WhatsApp template in the utility category that gives a specific update about a customer's existing order, payment or account, with no promotional content.
W
- WABA
- A WABA (WhatsApp Business Account) is the account in Meta's business platform that holds a business's WhatsApp API phone numbers, message templates and messaging settings.
- WhatsApp Cloud API
- The WhatsApp Cloud API is the Meta-hosted version of the WhatsApp Business Platform that lets software send and receive WhatsApp messages for a business phone number.
- WhatsApp Flows
- WhatsApp Flows are forms with one or more screens that open inside a WhatsApp chat, letting customers enter details, pick options and submit them without leaving WhatsApp.